Where I began

I look back now and try to pinpoint where I began, and what sparked my interest in photography… While neither of my parents would consider themselves to be artists, I remember my mom always took time to document special moments via photography / videography, and my dad was interested in photography enough to buy a DSLR camera to experiment with (which ended up being my first camera).

Growing up, I was a curious and creative child that spent a lot of time alone with my imagination. I had a great love for books that evolved into a love of magazines (especially fashion) as I got older. The editorial magic leapt off the page and captivated me entirely. In high school, I took photography as my extracurricular for two years. While I loved learning about the history of photography and having the opportunity to leave the classroom to take photos, I always got in trouble and ironically ended up with a C in the class.

during this time, the power of the internet, social media, and smart phones began making photography more accessible. i started by using myspace in high school, but it felt chaotic and not visually stimulating enough for me. during my freshman year of college, I discovered Tumblr which felt like a digital magazine I could scroll through for hours. During my junior year, I transitioned into using Instagram. At that time, it was a pretty new platform, and my dashboard consisted of two types of posts 1) regular people sharing extremely over-filtered personal photos, and 2) photographers sharing their art.

I especially gravitated towards street photographers (all across the world) who shared their raw visual perspectives on life. It was rebellious, youthful, and vulnerable. They inspired me to begin shooting my own street photography with my then iPhone4. Eventually, I created a ‘blog’ that curated my photography, writing, and features I did on local artists that I admired.

I had no idea that I could be, or already was a photographer.